Praying continually is a part of our Christian success story. Prayer is our way of life for every endeavor, situation, or circumstance. As we acknowledge God in all our ways, He will direct our path in life (Proverbs 3:6). Including Him in everything we do becomes a habit especially after we discover it works, that God really does answer prayers. Start practicing the habit of prayer before doing most things you require a positive outcome for. God is only a whisper away to help us by way of prayer (He WILL send people or the resources). We have to pray because praying is releasing our free will to God, thereby giving Him permission to operate in this natural realm on our behalf. He put the laws and rules in place long ago before the fall of Man in the Garden. After the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, we lost, or rather gave up our rightful authority in the earth to the devil. Because God sent Jesus to die for that basic act of disobedience mankind committed, our authority has been reinstated by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. But, we still have an enemy who understands this entire human race failure thing because he initiated the temptation, and Adam and Eve took the bait (this is why the world today is so jacked up). The devil is counting on ignorant Christians who don’t know who they are in Christ Jesus to keep us in bondage, and to enslave us with this evil world system he’s running for now. Without prayer, we do not reach our maximum potential in the Lord. Without prayer there’s no invitation, or petition to God to deliver us. His sovereign Mercy will help you if it fits his overall plan of rapping up this age. This dispensation of time on planet earth is almost over. Until Jesus returns, pray continually without ceasing.

Can you be happy in your faith, let me answer that, Yes. There’s a secret place of the Most High God that accepts all who do the work of trusting and believing in God no matter what horrors are in front of them (Psalm 91:1-16). It takes growth in the Lord to start receiving the special benefits of God. If we want anything bad enough, we go after it like a bulldog on a bone until we get it. Things are no different when it comes to seeking the Lord, and expecting to find Him. Knocking on the doors He has ordained for us to open, and asking with total resolve in knowing God will come through for us. There must be a level of maturity in the saints who want God’s best for them. Acknowledging the Lord in all we do causes Him to direct our path (Proverbs 3:6). Nothing better than knowing in advance a particular route that’s guaranteed for a successful outcome. Only the mature in Christ will expect and trust God in this way. We lose control of the helm of our will from time to time so God can point us in the way we should go. We must first be able to recognize God’s voice. Secondly, we must be willing to do the harder stuff in life which is a cost to our flesh, it doesn’t always freely cooperate with the assignment. We can be glad hearted which is a state of being, (due to the work of Calvary in us expressing victory on our countenance because of Jesus). Having a handle on Kingdom living and its guidelines for victorious living on planet earth is the mature christian’s portion for success. Knowing who we are in Christ Jesus is cause enough to be glad hearted. If we don’t know and live out what is ours in Christ, how can your heart be glad, your mind may not care, but our hearts have our deepest desires.

‭Is it more blessed to give than to receive? When I receive something as a gift that I’ve been desirous of for a long time it feels pretty good. When a person gives you a gift knowing God told them to give you that exact gift at the exact time the Lord said to give it, that will boost your faith. When the giver gives that good and perfect gift to you, in that way (of knowing it was God’s will to do it), there’s no shadow of turning in the giver just like the Lord, with an unadulterated motive behind the giving (James 1:17). The giver’s heart is in his giving, making him a prompt to it giver, whom God loves. In this way, it is more blessed to give than to receive. This “Giver” is more concerned about his relationship with God than receiving material things, which there’s nothing wrong with. As long as the gifts don’t have you, you’re not dependent upon having to have a gift for your birthday or you lose control of your temper. There could be a deeper issue concerning that. Just seeing the expression on a person’s face after receiving the perfect gift can be priceless. The feeling you get when you know you made someone really happy, that’s what it’s all about. Our giving can be measured in our time of serving in the church, giving up your time is still giving. Today’s text says, it is in this kind of hard work we must help the weak. It’s not always easy to give out of ourselves especially when we need to be filled or given a gift to help us along. Plant that seed of giving and you will be blessed, God said so (Luke 6:38).

We are to be merciful just as our heavenly Father is merciful. That may take some work, but it’s doable with the Lord’s help. Like sowing a seed in the ground, the mercy seed can bring us relief down the road in life. The law of reciprocity is always in effect, what goes around comes around, just like karma. What’s nice is we can determine our harvest by how and what we plant. Seeds of negativity planted bring a harvest of negativity into our life. As we are merciful in our everyday life, We step into God’s favor for His mercy towards us. It’s like a forcefield of protection, especially from self inflicted trouble. Be merciful just as your Father in heaven is merciful. He first showed His mercy towards us by sending His only begotten Son to die for our wrong doings, our sin. If it were not for His mercy, we would not be here today. God is love and mercy is a symptom, or byproduct of love. The Lord wants His children to follow after His example, no different than we want our children to follow our training for them. Be merciful, that person you’re dealing with has issues bigger than yours right now. Try practicing letting offenses made against you slide, but not to the point of reckless insult to your integrity. Be merciful, it’s an excellent seed to plant now for the trouble on its way later.

Today’s verse comes forth as more of a polite statement than the reality of the urgency behind what was really said and meant by God. The word consumed in today’s verse means destroyed, because God was considered to be a consuming fire. Back in the old testament, the people of God were getting zapped by God for their lack of obedience to Him. He would get so angry with Israel that if it weren’t for Moses Israel would not be here today. The Lord gets frustrated with us when He gives us instructions or guidelines to follow for our own safety and successful advancement in life, and we ghost God by not listening. But thank God for His mercy. Today we live in the dispensation of Grace. We don’t get zapped for wrong doing right away anymore, but if you’re not right with Jesus, that’s a big problem for your afterlife situation. Justice must be satisfied, it would pull on God too much to try and let it slide, and we’d be an even more reckless people without justice. As God’s mercies are new every morning, so can each temptation be, or great challenge before us. Things are constantly changing in this world along with people, and the way things have been done in life are seemingly being restructured due to new technology, AI, etc. It’s not easy keeping up with today’s flow but so we don’t get left behind or fall short of necessary knowledge to change with this world’s system, thank God for His mercy and grace. It is because of the Lord’s loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His tender compassions do not fail.

Are you quick to speak and slow to listen? Being reactionary to the slightest hint of offense means, Houston we have a problem. The word for today says, be quick to listen, giving people a chance to complete their thought. Allow the longitude of their thought to complete its journey before cutting them off. Slow to speak and slow to become angry is the way of love. Many people have issues presenting their claim or in comfortably getting out their true feelings with their words. That’s why many people go straight to the nuclear level of frustration when trying to explain something. They have not learned how to fully express themselves, or have never been allowed to complete their thought without interruption. The love of God is here to help bear such people and not allow the listener to get so impatient with them to the point of dismissing them before they finish speaking. Being slow to listen isn’t easy for many of us, that’s why we need the fruit of the spirit to be developed in us (Galatians 5:22-24). Hopefully you’ve begun the process of crucifying your flesh with its passions, and desires. To be quick to hear, and slow to speak is having the understanding of hope and the possibility of saving a soul for Christ. This practice of being slow to speak is necessary for our personal growth in the Lord, and in our natural, everyday dealings with people. Hear them out before you pass judgement.

Since we belong to God, we have already defeated and overcome the agents of the antichrist. Our Head, the Lord Jesus Christ has defeated the devil in hell, grabbed the keys of death and hell, and has given them to His body, Us (Revelation 1:18). Once a believer learns to walk in his or her authority in Christ, it’s a game changer. We are more than conquerors through Christ no matter what trouble comes our way (Romans 8:37). The enemy will test us with temptation, indecisiveness, fear, doubt, and whatever our personal weaknesses may be, he comes for that. We must be strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might, not ours, in order to overcome and defeat our enemies (Ephesians 6:10). The only way to be on the cutting edge of victory is to let the greater one in us take the lead in our strategy against the devil and his cohorts, (or any person being influenced by evil). We have the mind of Christ and should exercise the mind of Christ in our everyday life and affairs. His ways are above our ways, but not past finding out. There’s usually a smokescreen of trouble first, so if we would wait before flying off the handle to react, we may find out it’s a bluff and there is no immediate danger. Knowing who we are in Christ Jesus helps us stand against the attacks of Satan without unnecessary concern. Outside of Christ, our knowledge of Him, and the obvious grace of God in our life, we cannot successfully defeat the devil by natural means. The weapons of our warfare against Satan are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). Put the Greater One to work in your life, He’s waiting on you.

We are ambassadors for Christ in a foreign land. Once you become a new creature in Christ Jesus, you enlisted not only in the army of the Lord but you may well be one of His higher ranking believers that carries the mantle of kingdom rule enforcer. To be a Kingdom rule enforcer, you must have a well tried character, sensitive to keeping the integrity of God front and center of your life. To walk in this calling and anointing, one must spend close fellowship with the Lord on a daily basis. Once obtaining the scars and bruises from fighting the good faith of faith for a long period of time, you become experienced in dealing with the Lord. There’s less faith required because you now have tested experience with God on a personal level that He has never failed you while trusting Him to come through on your behalf. So whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. No labor for the Lord goes unseen or unrewarded. Martin Luther King Jr shook the very foundation of Satan’s kingdom like very few have ever done. He was a high ranking ambassador for the Lord. He was a kingdom rule enforcer for the Lord. He stood up for God’s way on planet earth, and was fearless in completing his ministry, and he did. When we do it all for the glory of God, He will be tied to His own promise of blessing us so there’s no room to contain the blessings. Work on your job as unto the Lord, not man. Be your best at whatever you do, even when no one’s watching you, that’s integrity.

Is there an estranged father amongst you that needs to have his heart turned to his children. If so, here’s your word for today. All actions made by mankind originated first in the mind. After hearing what they’ve been hearing, or hurting the way they’ve been hurting because of the children, it forms a behavior in the mind of that person over time. Keeping the balance in life of handling being a father, a husband, a provider, or trying to be a good wife, mother, feeding infants, and dealing with kids while dad’s at work. These are necessary responsibilities of the parent. But as we go about wearing these many different hats in life, we could begin to regret certain things or persons even in our own family because of the pressure of it all, which is very real. Many times a parent or child will leave the home because of mounting pressure over time. The only way for their return sometimes is by using this scripture verse like medicine. Everyday believing in your heart and confessing out loud from your mouth today’s verse will begin the process of your loved one’s return home. They have their own will so God will not override their decisions. But He can allow that lost loved one to be so uncomfortable away from you, that he or she seriously starts to consider coming home. It is a sometimes very long process before their return and that’s just real, (catch the signs or heed their words before they leave). He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the hearts of the children to the parents. The Lord needs a scripture to work with. Get to work and bring them home now!

The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. The question is, do you want to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. There is much pleasure and enjoyment in sin, it’s great for the death doomed soul that cares nothing about the afterlife. The afterlife must be dealt with before leaving earth, before your death. The message today is to live a self controlled upright and Godly life in this present day, and age. We can have what I call, controlled pleasure and fun. There’s a way to be totally happy living for Jesus and feeling like you’re not missing out on anything in life. We become content no matter what state we’re in (Philippians 4:11). That burning desire to fill an empty void in us, has left. Many people become substance abuse patients trying to fill that empty void in their souls. Only the Lord who made you, can do that without drugs and alcohol. It works, the peace of God that passes all understanding begins to manifest in our lives while in close fellowship with the Lord (Philippians 4:5-7). Ungodliness and worldly passions have put many a noose around hellbound people. They never know what hit them until it’s too late. They are frustrating the grace of God, by not choosing His Son Jesus as Lord and Savior of their life. God will not be mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap (Galatians 6:7-9). If you’ve been sowing actively into getting pleasure and inordinate desires fulfilled, you could be on course for a final destination to Hades, with the accuser of the brethren. The Grace of God has appeared through salvation. Life and death have been placed before you this day, choose life!